Women's Basketball Faces Off Against Australian Institute of Sport

Nov. 10, 2000

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TIP OFF INFORMATION
The 14th-ranked Oklahoma women's basketball team is competing in its final exhibition game tonight against the Australian Institute of Sport. Tip time is 7:00 p.m. in the Lloyd Noble Center.

Tonight's game will be broadcast live on the Internet at www.soonersports.com. Ed Murray will provide the play-by-play and Jenny Bramer will be the color analyst.

OKLAHOMA SOONERS
Oklahoma returns four starters and 11 letterwinners from last year's team. In addition, the Sooners return 73.7 percent of its points, 79.6 percent of its rebounds, 91.1 of its assists and 88.5 percent of its steals.

So, look for a more mature and experienced team to emerge this season. Coale believes she has the right mixture of veterans and the added depth needed at each position to strengthen the Sooners' chances of going deeper into the NCAA Tournament.

Oklahoma will continue to play an up-tempo, fast break type of offense, while extending their defense and applying more full court pressure due to the added depth.

AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SPORT
The Australian Institute of Sport has played Missouri (L, 82-72), Southwest Missouri State (L, 78-69), Arkansas (L, 94-76), Wichita State (L, 64-60), Tulsa (W, 71-60) and Oklahoma State (W, 57-56).

Leading the team is Shelley Hammonds with 16.0 points per game, followed by Laura Summerton's 12.5 points per outing. Defensively, they are paced by Hammonds' 6.6 rebounds per game and Summerton's 5.8 boards per outing.

RECAPPING OU'S FIRST EXHIBITION GAME
Head Coach Sherri Coale and Sooners defeated Oklahoma Christian, 94-61, Monday night at the Lloyd Noble Center in their first exhibition game of the season.

Leading the Sooners was junior point guard Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario). Dales had a game-high 19 points and five assists. She also had four steals, while shooting 50-percent from the field (7-of-14) and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (4-of-6). Sophomore guard Jadrea Seeley (Bethel, Okla.) came off the bench to contribute 16 points and pocket four steals. Sophomore Caton Hill (Ada, Okla.), senior Sunny Hardeman (Norman, Okla.) and junior LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.) each added 11 points, while all 15 players saw action. In addition, Hill ended the night with a game-high nine rebounds, all defensive.

The Eagles were led by Lindsay Wilson who scored 15 of her 19 points in the second half. Guard Ali Griffin also scored in double figures with 11 points.

The Sooners jumped out to a 23-6 lead in the first half before OC went on a 14-4 run to narrow the gap to 27-20 with 7:58 remaining in the half. Seeley sparked a 15-4 run with 10-straight points to propel Oklahoma back to an 18-point lead. OU's defense collected eight steals in the half and held OC to six points the rest of the way, to forge a 56-30 lead at halftime.

Oklahoma led by as many as 37 in the second half before coasting to a 33-point victory. OU forced 33 turnovers and held OC to a shooting percentage of 38.8 from the field, while the Sooners shot 52.3 percent from the floor.

EXHIBITION SUCCESS
Oklahoma is now 7-4 in exhibition play over the past five years. OU dominated Oklahoma Christian, 94-61, earlier this week. Last year, OU defeated Norrkoping Proderm (Sweden), 47-31, and Lithuania, 83-69. For the 1990's, OU went 9-7 in preseason action.

CAUFIELD TABBED AS THIRD TEAM ALL-AMERICAN
Junior guard LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.) was named a preseason third team All-American by the Women's Basketball News Service. Caufield caught the attention of the WBNS as a freshman when she was selected as a first team Freshman All-American squad. The 5-9 Ada, Okla., native is the team's top returning scorer averaging 15.9 points per game. She also paced the Sooners in the NCAA Tournament with a team-best 23.7 points per game. In addition, Caufield shot an impressive 60.5 percent from the field and 81.8 percent from the free throw line during postseason action.

DALES SELECTED PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12
Junior point guard Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario) was one of five players named to the 2000-2001 All-Big 12 preseason team. Dales averaged 12.7 points, 5.8 assists and 5.1 rebounds for the Sooners a year ago.

This past summer, the Brockville, Ontario native contributed 11.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 31 minutes of action as a member of the 2000 Canadian Olympic Team.

Other preseason All-Big 12 selections include Iowa State's Angie Welle and Megan Taylor, Texas Tech's Plenette Pierson, and Missouri's Amanda Lassiter. Dales was a member of the 2000 All-Big 12 second team while Taylor and Lassiter were on the third team. Pierson was the 2000 Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Welle was chosen the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year.

HARDEMAN AND DALES SHARE LEADERSHIP ROLE
This year's 2000-2001 team captains will be senior Sunny Hardeman (Norman, Okla.) and junior Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario). Dales is a three-time team co-captain, while Hardeman will serve her first season as a team co-captain.

SOONERS ADD DEPTH AND TALENT TO 2001 ROSTER
Oklahoma welcomes the addition of junior college transfers Rosalind Ross (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Jamie Talbert (Elkhart, Kan.), plus freshman Stephanie Luce (Southlake, Texas) to its 2000-2001 roster.

Ross and Talbert bring a wealth of playing experience to the court as each were named to the National Junior College All-American first team a year ago. Ross averaged 17.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.9 steals as a sophomore at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College. Talbert had a solid 23.7 points and 10.0 rebounds per outing after leading Seward County Junior College to an overall record of 33-1 last season. Luce, an All-State Texas selection, was productive on the court as she averaged 15.0 points, 5.4 assists and 2.8 steals a game for Carroll High School.

MEMBERS ONLY WATCH
Junior guards LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.) and Stacey Dales (Brockville, Ontario) are on the verge of becoming members of Oklahoma's elite 1,000-point club.

Caufield needs 37 points to become the 15th player in school history to score 1,000 career points. In two years, she has scored 967 points. Dales has 766 career points and needs to score 234 points to become a member of the elite club.

Oklahoma Head Coach Sherri Coale
Oklahoma Christian, 1987
With only four years of NCAA Division I women's basketball coaching experience, Oklahoma Head Coach Sherri Coale has given new life to a once bleak program. Coale, who believes in hard work and commitment, has now laid the foundation for OU to be a yearly contender for conference and national titles.

Coale engineered one of the most impressive turnarounds in women's basketball history this past season. Her team collected a school-record 25 victories, grabbed a share of its first-ever Big 12 Conference regular season title and gained national respect with its NCAA Sweet 16 appearance that resulted in a final national ranking of No. 13 by the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.

The 1999-2000 team's success has skyrocketed Coale's credibility and escalated her stock as she earned numerous coach of the year accolades, including runner-up for the prestigious Associated Press National Coach of the Year Award. Coale also was named Big 12 Conference, ESPN.com The Dish and Women's Basketball Coaches Association District V Coach of the Year.

The Healdton, Okla., native is a 1987 graduate of Oklahoma Christian University (BS in education) and 1990 graduate of Oklahoma (Masters' in education).

Prior to OU, Coale coached seven years at Norman High (1990-1996) producing an overall record of 147-40 and two state championships.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Women's Basketball Faces Off Against Australian Institute of Sport

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